The Philadelphia Phillies got some added insult to injury in their series finale in South Florida.
Star shortstop Trea Turner, who is leading the National League in hitting, left the Phillies‘ 5-4 loss to the Miami Marlins with an apparent hamstring injury Sunday.
Despite the loss, the Phillies still lead the second-place New York Mets by seven games atop the NL East. They lead the Los Angeles Dodgers by four games with 19 games to play for the No. 2 seed in the NL.
What Happened To Trea Turner?
Everything was going swimmingly for the Phillies. They were riding a 7-2 stretch that included a road-series win in Milwaukee and had stretched their division lead to a tie for its biggest of the season.
It’s been Turner who has been the primary catalyst of this hot spell. The shortstop is slashing .402/.427/.589 over Philadelphia’s past 25 games and pushed him atop the NL batting list — as the lone above-.300 hitter in the senior circuit.
He even hit his 15th homer that pulled the Phils within one in the sixth inning Sunday.
Yet, trailing 4-3 in the top of the seventh, Turner pulled up lame into first base after trying to leg out an infield hit — he reached anyway on Otto Lopez’s throwing error. Edmundo Sosa pinch ran for him and took over at shortstop.
“It [was] just kind of grabbing on me,” Turner said. “It didn’t feel good, felt like if I could’ve kept going I would’ve, but [I wanted to] get out of there and try to limit the damage.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomsen said Turner would see doctors Monday before the Phillies returned home to face the Mets.
“He’s taking care of himself,” Thomson said. “His legs get sore every once in a while, like everybody’s does, [but] he’s been holding up great.”
What Did Trea Turner Say About His Hamstring Injury?
In theory, Turner’s injury is well timed, since the Phillies have a sizable advantage in both races and are pretty much locked into the No. 2 seed in the NL.
But Turner didn’t see things that way.
“It’s never a good time, really,” Turner said. “Something like this late is not fun, and when these games really matter, you need to be out there. [That’s the] more frustrating part with that more than anything — is coming down the stretch, playing in big games and not being able to be out there. So hopefully it’s not too many [games missed].”
Turner has been one of the Phillies‘ most important offensive players, since aside from sitting fourth in the majors in hitting, he also is second on the team in both runs scored (94) and RBIs (69) behind Kyle Schwarber.
Plus, Turner was struck down amid arguably his best stretch since he signed the huge 11-year, $300 million contract with the Phillies in December 2022. The shortstop has a second-half OPS of .891 and was on pace to close in on his career high in stolen bases (43) that was set way back in 2018.
Yet, no matter what Turner says, the Phillies will want their primary leadoff hitter healthy for October, especially since he has been a catalyst for the Phillies in the postseason. Turner has a .313 batting average and .906 OPS, plus 11 runs scored, in 72 plate appearances over 17 playoff games for the Phillies.
Phillies Star Trea Turner Sounds Off on ‘Frustrating’ Injury